2 Thessalonians 3.15-Those Being Disciplined Are Not To Be Regarded As An Enemy But Instructed As A Spiritual Brother
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday January 9, 2022
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 3:15-Those Being Disciplined Are Not To Be Regarded As An Enemy But Instructed As A Spiritual Brother
Lesson # 71
2 Thessalonians 3:15 Correspondingly, each and every one of you must not regard him as an enemy. In fact, on the contrary, each and every one of you must continue to make it your habit of providing him with instruction as a brother. (Lecturer’s translation)
The contents of 2 Thessalonians 3:15 brings to an end the final major section to the body of Second Thessalonians and which section began in 2 Thessalonians 3:6.
2 Thessalonians 3:15 contains a prohibition followed by a command, which are closely connected to the previous two commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14.
The latter were addressed to those in the Thessalonian Christian community who were living a disciplined lifestyle by making it their habit of working to support themselves.
These two commands required that these individuals practice church discipline with regard to those in their community who were unrepentantly living an undisciplined lifestyle because they were unrepentantly disobeying the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 to work to support themselves.
The first command required that these individuals continue to make it their habit of publicly identifying those in their community who were unrepentantly disobeying this command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 to work to support themselves.
The second command presents the purpose of this public identification.
It required that those living a disciplined lifestyle continue to make it their habit of not associating with those who were unrepentantly refusing to obey the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 to work to support themselves in order that they would become ashamed.
Now, here in verse 15, the prohibition is directed again at those in the Thessalonian Christian community who were living a disciplined lifestyle by making it their habit of working to support themselves.
It required that these individuals not consider as an enemy those in their community who they were required not to associate with because they unrepentantly were disobeying the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 to work.
This prohibition is connected to the two commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 because the conjunction kai, which introduces it emphasizes the continuity between these two commands and the prohibition which it introduces here in 2 Thessalonians 3:15.
The conjunction kai is not a marker of contrast indicating the contrast between these two commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 and the prohibition in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 but rather, I believe that the word is functioning as a marker of correspondence.
This means that the prohibition which it introduces corresponds to the two commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 and specifically, it is marking the prohibition in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 as being closely associated with the commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14.
In other words, the conjunction kai is indicating that the commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 and the prohibition in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 are two sides of the same coin.
Specifically, it indicates that when obeying the commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14, one must not consider as an enemy those who unrepentantly disobey the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12.
Therefore, this teaches that when members of the Christian community practice church discipline they must never adopt the attitude that those on the receiving end of this discipline are an enemy.
In the command, the verb noutheteō speaks of those living a disciplined lifestyle providing instruction for those who were unrepentantly not doing so.
This would involve teaching them the consequences of continued disobedience to the command of 2 Thessalonians 3:12, which would be loss of rewards at the Bema Seat Evaluation of the church (1 Cor. 3:11-15; 1 John 2:28).
Correspondingly, it would also involve teaching them the consequences of repenting and obeying this command, which would be of course rewards at the Bema Seat as well as continued spiritual growth.
This teaching would also involve instructing them that repenting of their sin to be restored to fellowship with God and obedience to this command to maintain that fellowship, would result in being rightly adjusted to the holiness of God and it would also produce unity experientially in the Thessalonian Christian community.
Lastly, it would produce repentance from their sin and obedience to the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 would maintain their testimony in the non-Christian community.
The present imperative conjugation of the verb hēgeomai, which appears in the prohibition, is a customary present imperative, which has the force of a general precept and makes no comment about whether the action is going on or not.
Therefore, it is expressing the idea of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community, who was required to obey the commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14, was to “continue to make it their habit of” not regarding as enemy those who unrepentantly refused to obey the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12.
The present imperative conjugation of this verb noutheteō which appears in the command in this verse is a customary present imperative whose force is simply “continue.”
It is a command for action to be continued and which action may or may not have already been going on and it is usually a character building command and is used in general precepts.
Therefore, it is expressing the idea of each member of the Thessalonian Christian community, who was required to obey the commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14, was to “continue to make it their habit of” providing instruction for those who unrepentantly refused to obey the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12.
This interpretation of the present imperative conjugation of these two verbs in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 is indicated by the fact Paul, Silvanus and Timothy affirms the faithfulness of the Thessalonian Christian community to the gospel in 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12.
In fact, in these verses, they commend them for their post-justification faith in the gospel and the practice of the love of God with each other and with those outside their community despite experiencing great persecution.
Also, in 2 Thessalonians 3:13, he affirms that those who were living a disciplined lifestyle were performing actions, which are characterized as being divine good in quality and one of those actions would be the practice of church discipline in relation to the undisciplined in their community.
Furthermore, the contents of 1 Thessalonians 5:14 records that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy authoritatively exhorted and encouraged each member of this community to begin to make it their habit of providing the undisciplined with instruction and continue doing so.
The noun adelphos (ἀδελφός) here in the command which appears in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 means “spiritual brother” and not “spiritual brother and sister” as it usually does in the Greek New Testament and in the Thessalonian epistles.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that Paul is using the masculine gender of the intensive personal pronoun autos here in 2 Thessalonians 3:15, which indicates that he is referring to men in the Thessalonian Christian community who were the ones that were guilty of not working to support themselves.
Also, in the first century A.D. men usually worked to support their families and not their wives and although, women worked and even had businesses, men usually provided the income for their families while the wives took care of the children and home.
Today, in the twenty-first century in America it is very common that both the husband and wife provide income for their household.
Thus, the noun adelphos expresses the spiritual relationship which these individuals possessed with Paul, Silvanus and Timothy and those members of the Thessalonian Christian community who were living a disciplined lifestyle by working to support themselves.
The noun describes those members of the Thessalonian Christian community who were unrepentantly living an undisciplined lifestyle as being spiritual brothers of those who were living a disciplined lifestyle since both groups were declared justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone and thus regenerated by the Spirit.
It denotes that both those who were living a disciplined lifestyle and those who were unrepentantly not doing so were related to each other and the Lord Jesus Christ through regeneration.
Therefore, the noun adelphos is a reminder of the eternal, familial relationship that existed between those who were practicing church discipline and those who were on the receiving of this discipline, which was to govern the administration and practice of this discipline.
It is extremely important for the reader to understand that those who were obeying the commands in 2 Thessalonians 3:14 were not to break off “all” contact with those who were unrepentantly disobeying the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 to work for a living.
In other words, they were not to overreact to the situation.
This is indicated by the fact that they were to regard them as spiritual brothers in Christ and that they were to provide them instruction with regards to proper Christian behavior, which implies teaching them the command in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 and its importance.
They could not instruct them if they had absolutely no contact with them.
Therefore, the prohibition and command in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 teach that the purpose of church discipline is designed to restore the unrepentant sinner to fellowship with God and with His children and is not punitive.
The purpose of church discipline is always restoration and not revenge.
The purpose of this discipline is to deliver the offender from sinful patterns of behavior and not to drive him or her away from the fellowship of the church.
The church’s attitude is to be one of love and gentleness (Galatians 6:1-3).